Solangelo Snapshots
by randifrnZ
Summary: A one shot series of Solangelo head canons that spans the first few years of their relationship. Nothing graphic, implications as well as slight language. Sweet, fluffy, as-close-to-the-books-as-possible Solangelo is my joy, and I hope you enjoy reading the stories which I loved thinking up.


**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

 **It is my firm belief that when Nico was hit with Cupid's arrow, it made it so that the next time he saw his soul mate/love of his life, he would instantly fall head over heels for that person instead of gradually falling in love over time, as was the natural progression of his destined love. Will was meant to be the one who fell hard and fast, but Nico was struck by the arrow and made more open to a relationship, though platonic at first, speeding up the process by many, many years. Will came to absolutely adore and love the sweet and funny boy who had some personal stuff to work through, rather than lusting from afar the aloof and distant bad-boy Son of Hades whom he has to work up the courage to talk to on one of his very rare visits to camp and eventually come to realize there's a lot more to Nico than a strong jaw line and a tight ass, like his sense of humor and how deeply he cares for misunderstood creatures who just want friends. In my mind, if the arrow hadn't struck Nico, he either wouldn't have stayed those three days or wouldn't have seen Will's actions as kind or as a sign of affection. He would have ignored people trying to befriend him and been angsty about having been attracted to Percy and hero-worshipped him for so long just like he had after the Titan Wars, leaving for long periods of time and struggling to form strong bonds with people for many years. His relationships with the friends he made in House of Hades and Blood of Olympus eventually gives him the stability in his life that allows him to work through his hardships and become emotionally stable enough to accept Will's affection. They then are able to begin a relationship together after many years of struggling with themselves and each other.**

 **So, basically, thinking about how much angstier their relationship could have been makes me enjoy the sweetness of my head canons even more!**

 **Healing and Respect**

Nico slept the whole three days he was to stay at the infirmary. He was only woken to eat ambrosia and drink water. Also, once a day, Will would wake him up to help heal his shriveled stomach.

Will, having taken a seat on the bed beside Nico's, explained the procedure to Nico, who sat up to listen. Activating his Doctor Solace mode, Will said, "I heard they held you captive in a jar for six days and that even before that you didn't really have much meat on your bones to sustain you through that time. I believe your stomach has shrunk to the point where you can't take in the necessary nutrients that will get you healthy again. If you'd let me, I'd like to heal your stomach to better than normal to speed your recovery in the long run."

Nico was hopeful at the thought of a quicker recovery. His belly had always been a painful part of his body, since he was terrible at keeping a regular eating schedule and would often accidentally starve himself. Since his time in the bronze jar, the pain had turned excruciating at times. During the intensity of the quest and battles, he was able to ignore it. But, once the adrenaline ran out, he was back to clutching his stomach in hunger but still unable to eat more than a few bites of substantial food without throwing it back up. Still, he was nervous about how Will would perform this healing. He voiced those concerns to Will, and Will very patiently explained.

Starting to realize exactly how much Nico did not like to be touched, especially without his consent, Will explained his adjusted procedure, "I'll put my hands on you and sing a hymn to my dad, and you'll heal from his blessing. It's completely painless and very quick. If you'll let me, I could either put my hands on your stomach or your back. Both work just as well. Whichever you're more comfortable with is what we'll go with." He clasped his hands together both for emphasis and to await Nico's reply.

With a hesitancy that only came from a preference to not be touched, he told Will he'd prefer his back.

Will stood up and told Nico to lie on his stomach and get comfortable. Since Nico was visibly uncomfortable with the physical aspect of the interaction, Will further adjusted his normal procedures to accommodate his patient. Instead of crawling on top of him to get himself more comfortable, he stood at the edge of the bed at Nico's middle. He would usually completely lift the camper's shirt up to make sure he got a good view of the area in which he would be working as well as to check for other injuries. Most campers lacked modesty and would rip their shirts off before he could even ask, but he could tell that Nico wouldn't want any of that.

"I'm going to take a peak at the rest of your back, just protocol in case there's something else I should catch. I won't lift it up. Just peak through," he warned.  
Nico tensed just a little but did not protest.

Will lifted the shirt away from Nico's back but didn't lift it up so that anybody else could see. He saw a few bruises, so he decided to sing an extra hymn for those, too. He let Nico know so he wouldn't be caught off guard when it happened. Nico hummed in consent.

Will then placed his hands wide and flat across the middle of Nico's back, where his stomach would be a few inches below. Nico didn't flinch this time, but he also didn't relax. Will began to sing his hymn to heal Nico's atrophied stomach. It lasted about a minute. Will could feel his hands warming with the blessing of his father, as well as Nico relaxing into a puddle of goo beneath his hands. When the hymn was over, Will slid his hands up Nico's back to sing another hymn for his bruises. Nico sighed in content from the movement, but otherwise made no move.

Noting his relaxed state, Will took the opportunity to message a few knots he sensed in Nico's back. The boy did not protest, which surprised Will.

When Will was done, he adjusted Nico's shirt back to order and took a step back.

"All done, Nico. Now go back to sleep, doctor's orders," he commanded with a feigned stern tone.

When Nico didn't reply, Will realized his eyes were not only closed in relaxation, but also in sleep. Will pulled the bed covers back over Nico and tucked him in.

Will performed the procedure once a day for each of the three days Nico stayed at the infirmary. He was really glad he had been so stern with Nico about staying. He didn't want to think about the physical toll Nico would have put on his body if he kept going as he had intended.

 **The Speech**

After Nico's three days of sleeping was up, Will came by to see Nico before he was officially released. Will had debated on whether or not to give Nico his little speech. He wanted to explain to Nico something he felt was very important as well as something that he knew Nico wouldn't admit to himself. After spending the last few days chatting with seemingly hordes of visitors trying to see Nico, learning about the enormous struggles he endured and the impossible feats he performed and seeing all the love people had for him, Will felt the need to set Nico straight on a few things the he thought the boy had crooked. He wasn't sure if it were his place, and he worried he'd scare him off from camp for good, but he knew Nico needed to hear this. Nico was a good guy but troubled from having very few kind, adult influences in his life. Will didn't want to, and honestly couldn't, take on that role, but he recognized that someone needed to say this to him. No one else seemed to be stepping in for the guy's sake, so he resolved himself to being "that guy" who lectured his peers on things with which he himself still struggled.

While still seeming a bit drowsy, Nico held himself with more energy and strength than Will had ever seen him. He wondered for how long Nico had gone without a real rest. Will considered if long-term sleep deprivation might have been the root of Nico's health problems.

Nico sat at the edge of his bed and took in his surrounding, observing the other injured campers around him with interest and concern.

Will approached from behind and gave a small greeting to announce himself to Nico.

"Hey, Nico," Will said, coming around and sitting on the edge of the bed beside Nico's.

Nico made eye contact with Will and nodded his head in greeting, following Will with his eyes as he sat down.

Will didn't know what to do with his hands once he became nervous and thought he should do something with them. He settled for very purposely clasping them together, and by that point he realized he had already made the interaction awkward. Though Nico sat casually, Will felt his eyes boring into him.

"So, your time is up." He paused to take in Nico's reaction, though after a moment he wondered why he did that.

Nico just nodded, making no other move.

"And, while you're free to do whatever you want..." He suddenly felt as if the speech he had planned was the most contrived, condescending, piece of baloney he had ever thought of and completely lost his previously waning muster.

He looked down at his awkwardly clasped hands and twisted them for a few moments before he resolved himself to speak from the heart and tell Nico what he felt he needed to tell him. First step, stop focusing on his own hands.

He looked back up at Nico with an intensity that seemed to startle the boy. "I stopped you after the battle, because you were dead on your feet. You had been imprisoned for nearly a week, watched two friends literally fall into hell, and then Underworlded Away-"

He saw Nico scrunch his brow and open his mouth to correct him, but he gave him a look that shot him down.

"-ACROSS the world only to then engage in combat. Even the greatest hero would need more than a nap to sustain himself. And you were about to go off running to some place to be a loner. That's not a sustainable life-style. And that's not in my professional opinion. That's just fact. And it may be heroic and brave to die in battle, but it would destroy your friends to lose you because you didn't take care of yourself. People care about you, Nico. I don't think you know that, because that's the only reason I could imagine would lead you down that path of self-destruction. You have friends and family who care about you, and if you die they will feel your loss. There will be a hole in their lives and hearts that will never heal, because, while a comrade lost in battle is tragic, one lost by his own sloth is wasteful and leaves wounds in its wake." Will watched as his words sunk in. He saw more hurt in Nico's expression than anything else. Will didn't know what he had been expecting, but hurt wasn't it. He racked his brain for another way to say this, one that wouldn't guilt Nico into taking better care of himself. "You're important, Nico." Will dripped his head down low to catch Nico's eyes, which the boy hid behind his overgrown hair. "I barely know you, and I am pretty invested in you already. Do you know how many people we had to shoo out of here over the last few days so you could rest? Your friends care about you."

Nico looked back up at Will unsure.

"You can't keep playing the lone wolf like this. Not when you go around making friends and letting people invest in you emotionally. Your loss is a great loss. You are a Hero of Olympus now." Will wanted to put his hand on Nico's knee as a reassuring gesture, but he resisted knowing Nico would not have found it reassuring. Smiling at Nico, he said, "So, I'm not telling you what to do, but... I'm telling you what to do. You don't have to stick around camp, but don't push yourself for the sake of nothing." He let out a sigh and purposefully let out an exasperated eye roll. "And knock it off for a while with the Underworld-y stuff! Yes, it's you main power, but too much is zapping your life force or whatever."

Nico gave a small laugh to this, though still somber from Will's words.

"We're only demi-gods. We all have our limits to these powers. And with great power comes great need for self restraint." Will gave Nico a winning smile for his own joke but was rewarded only with a sour face from Nico.

"Don't steal my jokes," Nico grumbled, seemingly annoyed.

Will balked at the accusation, "I did no such thing. That's my joke, and you don't get to steal it."

Nico looked mortally offended. "You don't get to come over here and tell me what's what then steal my jokes. Did Percy tell you I said that?"

"Percy didn't say anything about you stealing Will Original References. He only asked if you'd be ok then left after we assured him you were just recouping and to ignore your drooling. Reyna also Iris Messaged hoping to see you. We told her the same as we did Percy. She warned us about your snoring, and I told her we already handled it. Lou Ellen covered your area with some Mist, so it sounds like a gentle summer breeze over here instead of your earth shattering snores." Will meant to rile Nico up, but he realized that Nico must have stopped listening after he heard that Reyna had tried to see him. "Like I said, dude, people want good things for you, like health and being alive and all that jazz."

They sat in a silence that started out comfortable then slowly became uncomfortable.

Will had really wanted to leave dramatically earlier. He wanted to let his words hang in the air and leave Nico to take his words to heart. However, now that he had said his piece, he really wanted to know if Nico had been convinced yet. He knew the cool thing would be to walk away now, save face while he can, but he couldn't resist.

"So, are you staying?" He asked more eagerly than he meant to.

Nico seemed to consider this. He looked at Will, looked away, and then looked back at Will. "Yeah, I guess I should. Though I don't know what I'm going to do around here."

"You'll figure something out. Just try not to lurk everywhere you go and the campers won't get freaked out," Will suggested.  
Nico was clearly offended.

Backpedalling, Will explained, "I remember it's what scared everyone away last time you stayed at camp. I don't hold it against you now, because I know you didn't have any normal adults around to tell you that you were being creepy." He backpedaled faster seeing Nico grow more offended. "It's just, you know, friendly advice, and I was, you know, suddenly busy being the counselor of my cabin. I only really had time for my siblings then. Speaking of siblings," he desperately changed the subject away from children not liking Nico based on him being fundamentally weird, "You sister Hazel left you a note. I could lie and say I didn't read it, so I won't. She said she'll be back from Camp Jupiter soon to check in on you, since she doesn't trust you to visit as soon as she'd like you to. Being nosey is a character flaw I've learned to accept." Will grinned at Nico who shook his head in disbelief and disapproval.

"You're ridiculous," Nico mumbled then looked to the bedside table for Hazel's note. He opened it, read it, and then placed it in his lap as he looked back up at Will. "I've already decided to stay," Nico explained. As a side note, "Maybe, bossy is another character flaw you may want to look into," Nico suggested.

"I call it leadership skills," Will retorted with a cheeky grin and a finger pistol. "And, that's great, man! You better actually visit me more often. And, not just at Counselor meetings. They don't count. You owe me at least five sodas from the Hermes Cabin for nearly bringing you back from the edge of becoming a shadow boy."

Will could tell Nico did his best to keep his features neutral, but a light in Nico's eyes let Will know that Nico was enjoying himself.

"Alright, Nico. You're free to go." Will stoop up from the bed. "If I could give you a prescription, it'd say: eat food, get fresh air, talk to people, and avoid lurking." Will counted off his instructions on his hand.

Nico rolled his eyes and flopped back onto his bed with a huff, legs jostling as they hanged of the side. "Your bedside manner is impeccable, doctor."  
"And your life choices are questionable," Will threw back, "otherwise, you wouldn't need such instructions."

"Yeah, yeah," Nico mumbled, seeming to drift off again.

Worried he might still be tired, Will offered for Nico to stay longer if he needed to.

Nico insisted he was fine, but his reassurances were interrupted by a large yawn.

"You're not exactly convincing me."

"I'll get up. I'm getting a little stir crazy anyway." Nico moved to get up, but halfway up he flopped back down again and groaned.

As a last resort to get Nico to stay put, if not to sleep to at least rest his body further, Will offered something he'd never offered any patient before. He barely even let his own siblings do this. "Nico. If you stay, I'll let you read some of my vintage Spider-Man comics."

Nico tensed. "What's the catch?"

"Just that you have to stay in the bed," and after a moment, "and accept death by my hands if you damage a single one even in the slightest."

 **Accountability**

When his time at the infirmary was up, Nico lingered around camp, trying not to lurk, whatever that was.

Will arranged to hang put with Nico at the archery range, but Nico was really noncommittal about it. Will assumed that Nico preferred to play things cool and that Nico just didn't like showing enthusiasm about anything and would still show up despite his lack of confirmation.

Will waited at the range for an hour before he stomped up to the Hades Cabin to confront Nico. He found him around the back of the Cabin sitting against the wall, one leg outstretched, the other bent with his arm resting on his knee. His head leaned back against the wall, eyes closed and breathing slowly.

Will accosted Nico for not showing up. He told Nico how he wanted to hang out and how bad he felt to be waiting around by himself for an hour for someone who never intended to show up. All he wanted to do was unwind with someone who didn't see him as the counselor of a cabin or a healer or any other responsibility of his, someone whom he thought wanted that as much as he did.

Will told Nico that he didn't think Nico was like that. He didn't know Nico very well, but he didn't get the vibe that Nico wasn't accountable for little things like meeting up with a friend.

Nico would risk his life for humanity, but he wouldn't show up to an agreed upon place at an agreed upon time while someone is expecting him?

Will was hurt and disappointed. He was sorry he was in Nico's face about this when Nico really never officially committed to anything and Nico inexplicably refused to acknowledge that they were friends at all, but Nico still knew he'd be waiting and left him to wait for him for so long.

Nico was floored, literally and figuratively. He knew Will was intense about the welfare and health of the campers, but he had no idea that intensity spilled over into other things he did. He didn't really realize he had been blowing Will off. He never said he'd be there, but Will also never acknowledged Nico's reluctance. He thought he should be mad at this guy who always expected Nico to do whatever he said, but Nico knew that that bossiness came from a very caring and personal place. And he really did feel bad that Will, willing and excited to spend time with Nico, waited for so long because Nico wasn't used to people wanting to simply hang out with him and he awkwardly chose not to, simply because he got nervous and couldn't give the affirmative.

Nico stood up while Will continued to rail into Nico about how he didn't expect them to become best friends but he thought it would be cool to chill out or something in their free time. Camp was about spending time with the only people in the world who could get each other, right? That's all he wanted, really.

Nico couldn't think of anything to say to get Will to stop his tirade mid diatribe. To get his attention, Nico stood and gently lifted his hand to Will's elbow. Will stopped mid sentence, hurt and annoyance still on his face. Nico apologized, explaining he didn't realize how affected Will would be from Nico not showing up.

Will told Nico that of course he was upset. You can't leave people behind like that. Will had been expecting Nico to show up, but Nico didn't value Will's time or feelings.

It hit home for Nico. He knew how it felt to be treated as if he could be forgotten and his feelings could be ignored. He could care for the smallest creatures or the most misunderstood, but when it came to plain people, he could put them on the back burner.

He learned a very important lesson about himself that day. Nico was someone who never let people question their own value just because he couldn't be bothered to be there for them. He would always be there for people if they needed him to be there, no matter how small. He would never let someone wait forever for him, as he had often waited for others.

Nico apologized again to Will and asked if it's too late to practice archery. Will was surprised by how little fight Nico put up. It took him a moment to change gears, but nonetheless he agreed to the subtle plea for a second chance.

 **A Grab and a Shove**

One day Nico was just chilling around camp with Will, and Will needed to grab something from the infirmary. So, they stopped by the Apollo Cabin to grab Will's keys. Nico saw that there were only three identical keys on the key chain with a single tab simply labeled "INFIRMARY". He seized his opportunity to release his snark on Will, asking why he only has three keys when he knew for a fact the infirmary had a minimum of ten different locks. Will frowned in thought and said, "I keep losing them and my siblings refuse to give me any more replacements. I usually depend on someone else being there to get around the place."

This overloaded Nico with ridiculousness. It was just too funny to him, how this cute, bossy, Apollo counselor, head of the infirmary Will could not keep track of his keys to such massive proportions and no longer had access to his designated building.

Nico was beyond laughing. He felt his snark bubbling up ready to explode, but he also remembered that he likes Will, and Jason told him that sometimes his sarcastic comments didn't land as well as he would hope they would. So, he bit his tongue and silently left the cabin toward the infirmary, gesturing for Will to follow.

Arriving at the infirmary, Will looked at the three keys and mumbled to Nico, "And, these all look the same, so I don't even know which doors they go to. I know there's one that goes to like... the shed...? Of the Demeter Cabin? ... Maybe...?"

Nico officially lost it at that point. He laughed so hard he doubled over, instinctively grabbing on to Will's arm so he would not fall to the ground. Between gasps for air and watery eyes, Nico garbled out, "Will... you're... a ... me... mee... you're a mess! Who does this? Who has so little control over the keys in their life?!"

Nico couldn't remember the last time he had laughed so hard. He honestly didn't think he ever had. It hurt so bad to do so, like stretching muscles that had long ago atrophied. But he couldn't stop and soon Will got over the initial shock and embarrassment to Nico's reaction and joined him in his laughter. Once they both calmed down from their fit, they looked at each other with feigned annoyance, holding back smiles. Will shoved Nico's arm with mock force, and Nico pretended to be mortally wounded. "You're such a jerk, Nico. The next time you want to hurt yourself laughing at my expense, don't."

"I just... how do you lose control of your life like that?"

Will rolled his eyes and shoved Nico again for good measure. He quickly forgave Nico for his ruthless mockery. The sheer lightheartedness coming from Nico was enough to make Will forget about any hard feelings from being laughed at. Plus, snark was Will's favorite type of friendly humor.

 **Shadow Traveling**

Will called Shadow Traveling "Underworlding Away," and it just killed Nico.

"That's not what it's called, and I'm going to need you to stop."

Once Nico got to a, in Will's Opinion, satisfactory health, Will gave Nico the all clear for Shadow Traveling in moderation. Nico was outwardly peeved at having his Shadow Traveling being monitored, but he still refrained from overexerting himself with the effort to travel.

When the summer came to an end, and Will and Nico had built a tentative friendship, Will had to go back to his mom on the West Coast and boarding school and normal life. Nico had to go to a terrible remedial school (paid for by Hades) in DC to catch up on the years of schooling he missed.

Will lamented that he wished he could show Nico the Star Trek shows and movies but can't since they would be so far apart.

Nico suggested he shadow travel to Will after school and on the weekends to hang out.

After some mild pressure and cajoling, Will relented to allow Nico to do Underworld-y stuff for him since it was just the single back and forth path and Will himself had already given Nico the go ahead to return to Shadow Traveling.

Nico didn't miss a single visit the whole school year.

And even though they spent those countless hours alone in Will's darkened dorm room, neither of them tried anything funny.

Because, even though they were both horny teenage boys, they were too young, their friendship was still too new, and they were both so embarrassed about their attraction and uncertain about whether or not it was reciprocated (this didn't stop Will's roommate from ruthlessly, though good naturedly, ragging on Will about the hours on end he spent alone with the other boy. Will swore nothing was going on, but there was a teeny tiny part of him deep down that he wouldn't acknowledge that secretly wished there was truth to the roommates words).

 **Fathers**

Will told Nico that he has never actually met Apollo before. Even before Percy made the gods claim their children when they came to CHP, Apollo always claimed them the moment they got to camp. Apollo also spoke to them awful Haiku's and limericks, since they were the only ones who would listen without making fun of him. Even though those things used to redeem him in Will's eyes, he still felt bad that Apollo had visited some of the other campers but he has never come to see any of his own children. He was grateful he did not feel a need to prove himself to his dad; he was chill with who he was and what he was capable of in regard to how those abilities related to the gods. But, it still hurts that Apollo did not want to meet any of them. Will knew that it would have really meant a lot to some of his siblings to have maybe read him one of their poems or sang him a song or just been seen by him with his own eyes, but they would never have that. Nico totally understood having that weird relationship with an aloof, godly parent. While their relationships with their fathers were very different, they were aware of the lack of that attachment that they were supposed to receive from a parent. It made Will happy to be able to tell someone this without sounding like he expected anything from Apollo. He was just expressing his regret for his siblings and the unsettled feelings he'd bottled up.

 **Speaking With His Hands**

The first time they see each other at camp after the school year (even though Nico shadow traveled to Will all the time), Nico was having a casual conversation with Percy (or at least he was trying to. Percy kept trying to slip in overly casual supportive LGBT comments that were dropping like anvils on the conversation). Will came up from behind Nico and wrapped an arm around Nico's shoulders, screaming "Nicooooooooo!" happily. He made light conversation with both Nico and Percy until he had to head over to the infirmary.

"Camp hasn't been in session for more than an hour and we already have two campers burned from the lava rock wall and three with sprained ankles. And none of them will tell us how they sprained them, which only makes us go from curious to suspicious." He sighed then told Nico that Nico would come by his cabin after lunch so he could show him this super awesome vintage Star Trek poster he found at a garage sale. (It wasn't a suggestion or request. Will had learned quickly that the only way to get Nico to go anywhere was to tell him you'd be waiting for him there, and he'd never fail to show up perfectly on time.) Will detached himself from Nico (Percy DEFINITELY didn't miss the fact that Nico's arm was revealed to have been around Will's waist) and waved good-bye to Percy and Nico before running off, shaggy blond hair flopping with each stride. When Nico looked back at Percy, he immediately felt embarrassment wash over him from the goofy grin and knowing look Percy gave him.

"Shut up, Jackson," he grumbled.

Percy's smile exploded.

Nico rolled his eyes and waved his arms around in irritation. "This is why we can't be friends," Nico said, but there was no venom behind his words.

Percy laughed and smacked his hands together in excitement, saying, "I gotta tell Jason!" He ran off before Nico could tell Percy there's nothing to tell Jason. He and Will weren't a thing. They were barely fifteen and just friends, anyway.

Nico huffed in resigned frustration. He knew Jason would undoubtedly give Percy the exact reaction he was looking for, but he also trusted Jason to make sure Percy didn't say anything to anyone else or give Nico too hard of a time about it. Jason was much more chill about these kinds of things than Percy.

 **Coming Out**

Will had no idea Nico was gay, when Will came out to Nico. He was all flustered and nervous and telling Nico that it didn't change anything about himself. He was still the same old Will, and he really hoped Nico didn't get weird about it.

At first, Nico thought Will was messing with him. He thought Will was pretending to come out to give Nico a hard time for not already telling Will when it was so obvious. However, as Will rushed to make Nico understand that he still wanted to be friends and didn't want Nico to be weirded out or nervous around him, Nico realized Will was completely unaware of Nico's sexuality and was expressing his true feelings.

Nico's feelings tore into different emotions. Relief washed over him since Will wasn't mocking him. Understanding surged through him in sympathy for Will's anxiety and worry. Finally, a bubble of pure joy grew in his chest. His deep and longstanding insecurities worked to pop that bubble, but they could not stop the lightheaded feeling he got when he realized he had a genuine opportunity to maybe one day eventually have a shot with the object of his affection. To Nico, finding someone who reciprocated his feeling was so far out the realm of possibilities, that he was nearly blown way by the thought that that may actually be possible for him. That tiny bit of hope created by the bubble in his chest put a smile on his face for the rest of the day that he could not wipe off even if he tried, and try he did not.

 **Most Awkward Moment in Their Lives**

A few weeks before the end of the summer, Will squatted down to tie his shoes just after entering the Big House. He didn't want to block the doorway so he took a step to the side, just out of the way. Nico entered the Big House just as Will straightened up, leading with his butt. With the sun shining bright and the lights off in the Big House, Nico didn't see Will just inside the doorway a step to the left, which was the exact direction Nico was headed. At the exact same moment Will's butt was at Nico's crotch level, Nico bumped Will's butt with said crotch area, knocking Will off balance. When Nico hit Will he panicked and grabbed Will's hips when he saw him about to fall over. They held still for a moment before either boy realized their suggestive stance. They immediately broke apart and stuttered apologizes and flushed red, too hot for comfort, both suddenly darting away in opposite directions, neither going in the direction they had previously been heading. They didn't talk to each other for two days, too embarrassed and turned on.

 **Morning Pep Talk**

Every morning before school on days he would Shadow Travel to Will in the afternoon, Nico stood in front of his mirror and give himself _the talk_.

"Will is one of your only friends. You cannot kiss him. Just because you're gay and he's gay and he's you're best friend and he's completely your type and sometimes when you look into his eyes the world around you just stops and everything melts away- ahhhhh... no. You cannot kiss Will. He is your friend. A kiss on the cheek is the limit. You do that for everyone. You must resist the urge to move an inch to the side to his lips. Friends don't kiss friends on the lips. Whatever you wouldn't do to Jason is what you can't do to Will. Even if his hair smells like sunshine and is always warm to the touch, you cannot run your fingers through it. You would never do that to Jason and all thoughts in your head would cease and you don't know what you'd say or do when that happens. You cannot kiss Will."

Both satisfied and dejected, Nico gave himself a stern look in the mirror and proceeded to his daily struggle of resisting the urge to kiss Will.  
[We all know how successful that is ;)]

 **Virginity**

While Will wanted to begin a physical relationship with Nico, he didn't want to have full on sex until he was eighteen. When he first found out he was a demigod and came to camp and learned about health and healing, it made him angry how careless the gods were about sex and having children. He promised himself he wouldn't have sex until he was old enough to make a mature decision about sex and would be responsible enough to care for a child in case he got someone pregnant. When he realized he was only interested in sex with people of the male gender, Will didn't change his views on the matter. No, he wouldn't be risking anyone getting pregnant, but he had gotten it in his head for so many years about waiting until he was eighteen that it didn't feel right to do it any sooner. No matter how badly he wanted to take that step with Nico when they were seventeen, his eleven year old self would pop into his head and ask him whether or not he was ready, reminding him that sex was a big deal no matter how natural it felt to go forward.

For years, he thought he'd wake up on his eighteenth birthday ready to pounce on Nico. He planned out the whole evening fully intending to do the deed. However, a week before, Nico was helping him practice his swordplay when a wave of desire washed over him. Something in him turned on its axis, and he realized he was ready and wanted to do it here and now. He dropped his sword and stalked over to Nico. Nico was caught off guard by the sudden change in demeanor but quickly caught up. Nico had told Will when they were sixteen that he was ready, and he was beyond understanding when Will explained that he wanted to wait. Since they were both ready to do everything but, the issue never really came up. Until Will practically attacked Nico in his sudden onslaught of lust.

They hurried to the Hades Cabin since it was always empty and did the deed. Even though it was rushed and messy, they had both been emotionally and physically ready for the act, so the quality of the experience of losing their virginities to each other didn't matter to them. As long as they were together and they both knew it was time, it was perfect to them.

 **Tension**

"Are you out of your mind?! In what universe would Batman win against Superman?" Will balked, shaking his head in disbelief.

"In every universe, because Batman is better than Superman," Nico answered as if explaining something to a plebian far beneath him.

"It isn't a matter of who's a better character-"

"Which he is."

"That's debatable-"

"Which it's not."

"Which it is," Will waved his hand to dismiss the interruption. "Superman is invincible."

"Superman is invulnerable," Nico corrected. "There's a difference."

"Okay. Invulnerable. Whatever. All that means in that Batman can't hurt him. So, how is Batman supposed to beat him?"

"Batman is extremely intelligent. He'd figure out how to defeat Superman."

"That changes nothing. He's still invulnerable. How is he supposed to defeat someone who never tires or could punch for literally forever or kick him into super outer space?"

"He would use kryptonite, duh."

"WHERE WOULD HE GET KRYPTONITE? And how would he even know to use it? It's a well kept secret as well as an obscure fatal flaw."

"IN A UNIVERSE WHERE SUPERMAN EXISTS, I'M SURE KRYPTONITE IS UBUNDANT. And Batman is the greatest detective who ever lived. He'd figure it out."

"If kryptonite is soooooo abundant, Superman wouldn't be able to function day to day. And at what point ever at all in the existence of Batman Comics is he called the best detective ever?"

"Well, it may not be abundant, but it still exists, and Batman would definitely have access. And it definitely has said in very clear words that his is the best detective in at least Gotham-"

"Oh, yeah, because Gotham is the only place where detective abilities is evaluated. Either way, I HIGHLY doubt that he could figure out Superman's greatest secret slash weakness through sheer magic of detective skills."

"AAAAAAAAAAAND he does all the detective work for the Justice League. You know, the CONGLONERATE OF THE BEST OF THE BEST. He's a mere mortal on par with the gods among men."

"You can't use how much you identify with a character as an argument for how they'd beat another. Fact still stands that Superman will always win in a battle against Batman."

Biting back a growl, Nico bit out, "Batman also has billions of dollars to invest in the endeavor."

"As if Batman would spend an entire fraction of his wealth on a single endeavor of a feat of strength. He has more sense and control over his pride for that to ever happen."

Convinced of that counter point, Nico counters, "He WOULD do it as a friendly exercise of limitations with a worthy foe."

Also convinced of this counter point, Will considers it. "I guess you're right-" momentarily caught off guard by Nico's smile "-But Batman would still lose."

Nico's face drops. "Batman would find a way."

"Well, prove it, then."

"Make me."

"What's in it for me?"

"The schooling of a lifetime."

"I don't know. You're not really making it worth my while yet."

"I'm going to wreck your ass tonight."

Floored "... You, uh... yeah, you win."

"You admit Batman would win against Su-"

Jerking Nico toward himself by the belt buckle so their hips collide, Will explained, "I'm saying-" begins unbuckling Nico's belt, glancing down at his hands then looking back into Nico's eyes, "- I'm taking you up on your offer."

"Yeah, but still Ba-"

"You bring that up one more time," whipping Nico's belt out of the loops and tossing it behind him, "and it's your ass getting wrecked. Now are you going to make good on your threat, or am I going to have to make good on mine?"

"Oh, really." But he made good on his threat, and Will was more than ok with losing the argument, though he would stand by the belief that he didn't lose the debate.

 **Newest Kink**

Will couldn't resist the way his heart beat in that special way it did for Nico.

Nico would give him a cutting glance in a room full of people, and he would heat up all over, his heart thumping in his whole chest, and his fingers would tingle. In those moments, everything else in the world hazed. The words in the air buzzed gently; the lights dimmed everywhere but on the young man across the room. He could already feel Nico's skin beneath his fingertips, remembering it's cool texture.

Nico was a lot of things. To Will, among many, many other things, in these moments, he was his lover. His mouth and his ears somehow engaged with the rest of the world on a level his mind and his heart no longer resided, still interacting with those around him with sufficient success. His eyes would return to a person, whomever he was speaking to before he saw Nico's look, but every part of his consciousness was focused on the object of his affection.

He made no move toward Nico, and Nico made no move toward Will. This added to the exchange. Both were fully aware of each other, and both were fully aware that the other was fully aware, yet they stayed apart, pretending to be unaware. Who would cave first was always a mystery. Neither of them ever knows until the moment he cracks. The tension would build up until suddenly became too much.

Whichever young man would succumb first would break off his conversation as quickly as possible and move off to an empty space, anywhere available to them. The other would follow. Few words would be exchanged; mostly acknowledgement of whoever succumbed to the draw they felt and banter about how pointless these parties was, though both knew these moments was why they came. They enjoyed the people and the music; the atmosphere was pleasant and the snacks were usually tasty. Yet, still those things faded so far away from the two young men, that they never were able to appreciate the events.

They showed up often separately, mingled, began their exchange, then fucked in a guest room or closet, and usually went home together to finish up some housework that needed to be done or watch a movie they both love to hate.

It was the kinkiest thing they'd ever done in their, in the scheme of life, short sexual history. They lost their virginities to each other when they were seventeen in a sweet, quick, simple, messy romp in Nico's camp bunk. They progressed in a healthy manner, and this habit they had picked up of hooking up at parties was the newest peak of sexual excitement in their lives.

They didn't know if anyone knew that they did this. No one said anything to them, and they still invited them to parties.

They didn't know what to label this act, but they enjoyed it regardless. Though they knew it would never lose its thrill, they sometimes wondered aloud what their next new kink would be. They tried to not force themselves to expand their sexualities. They preferred to let it develop naturally. When their newest kink presented itself, they would welcome it kindly. Until then, they were more than satisfied with their tension-filled, earth-shattering romps in strange rooms in strange places with strange people just outside the doors.

 **Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed my Snapshots. They were little head canons I typed out in my phone in random order. I was going to post them as separate chapters of a single story, but after I read through a bunch of them, I realized that, reorganized, they made I nice little linear story. So, with a few tweaks, I ordered them into the first couple years of the sweetness of Solangelo.**

 **Miranda**


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